Soccer/ FA Premiership: Chelsea may still trail the league leaders by three points, with their league title under threat, yet Jose Mourinho departed last night with the satisfied smile of one who knew a psychological blow had been inflicted.

"If I was in their position I'd be very frustrated," said the Portuguese. "Manchester United came into this game knowing it was a big chance for them to open up the gap, but they didn't take it."

The champions might have hoped their second-half revival would have yielded a victory, but the overriding mood engulfing this arena at the final whistle was that this was a missed opportunity for United. It was an assessment acknowledged by both managers given that the league leaders had been so dominant before the interval, with Chelsea disjointed in comparison. An eighth successive league victory and a six-point gap at the top had beckoned.

"This was an opportunity," conceded Alex Ferguson with a hint of a scowl.

The managers had shared a word of consolation for each other at the final whistle and, according to Mourinho, an acceptance that neither warranted a win even if it had taken something approaching a Ferguson-esque dressing down at half-time for the Chelsea manager to shrug his players out of their mediocrity.

"I told them that no more than two or three had performed in the first half," admitted Mourinho. "The biggest frustration for me in football is not when I lose, but when my team does nothing to win. In the first half, we did nothing and, at half-time, I told them to be afraid of going home having offered nothing.

"Maybe my players were waiting for things to happen, because there wasn't a lot of ambition. We gambled a bit. Our substitution was to take a right-back off and put a left-winger on, but the team reacted very well and United found it difficult to adapt to that new reality.

"It's positive for us. We were playing away, we kept the distance with them and we know, in the second period of the season, United must go to Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. They will have a difficult time.

"We came here to win, but I think a draw is a good result. Mentally, to go home with the difference between the sides no wider is very important. United have lost a big, big chance to open the gap to six points, and it's a better point for us than it is for them.

"We've also gained a point on Arsenal in a weekend when people thought they might have closed the gap, too. We showed our power in the second half and showed everyone that we're not sleeping and we want to win this."

Ferguson drew encouragement from his side's recovery from the traumas endured at Parkhead. "I'm satisfied with the performance," said the United manager, who was presented with a €300 bottle of Portuguese wine by Mourinho before kick-off. "It shows me we can compete and that, when we hit the high levels, we are probably the best team in the country at the moment.

"And I'm pleased for Louis (Saha). He's been like a caged animal in training all week after the penalty kick on Tuesday. He was so eager to make up for it, having missed that one. I never had a worry about him."

Ferguson will assess injuries to Cristiano Ronaldo and Saha today with Wednesday's game against Everton in mind. "We will do our best to get them fit for that match because we have to go again," he added. "That is what champions are made of. Chelsea will be delighted that we've not taken this chance, but we've got to step forward now. It'll be nip and tuck between us and Chelsea until the end, I'm sure, but it's about consistency from now on in - that is how you win championships, and that is the test."

• Guardian Service